You Neville Know: As Told By Trevor
by Hot Cocoa
Summary: What you never knew about Neville, as told by his closest friend; Trevor the Toad.
1. The Origin of the Toad

«.::.::.: You Neville Know; As Told By Trevor :.::.::.:»

«Chapter One - The Origin of the Toad»

When I was really little, I didn't really have anyone to hang out with. All the families nearby were too old, or didn't have any kids. I tried to keep myself occupied as best I could, but I needed a friend. Someone to play with, or talk to, or even just to sit with. So, for me, it was quite fortunate when the family who's house was behind mine brought a kid home one day. He was a little younger than me. A bit scared and kept asking for his parents. Everyone in the house, I'd seen at least two women and a man, were far too old to be parents. The old woman of the house, his grandma I found out later, told him they wouldn't be there anymore. He was only a few years old, so it was sad. It was then I decided, once and for all, that the old lady in her creepy dresses, furs and stuffed-birds was a witch.

I knew all about them. I'd heard about Hansel and Grettle, the Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty, and all their evil witches. She fit the build before, but now that she had gone so far as to capture a kid- it was too much! I couldn't allow her to do that. I would save him, the first chance I got.

The new kid had been living there for a few months when I finally could talk to him. He was sitting in his backyard, at the edge of a pond. Their backyard was full of swampy water and straggly trees. Bravely, I climbed over the fence separating our yards and tip-toed through the marshland to get a better look. Extra quiet though I was, one of the frogs nearby croaked and the kid looked around for the sound. He stared straight at me. I was terrified; what if he was with the witch by choice? What if he was going to turn me in? But instead, as I stood petrified, he just waved. That was the first time I met Neville Longbottom.

We talked for a while about nothing much, just kid stuff, and after a while I picked up on something. He still wanted his parents, and to go home. Neither of us knew how to get there, but we decided that the first step would be to get him out of his current situation. And so, I told him, 'We have to save you from the wicked witch.'

At that, he stared. Then blinked, then stared again before finally speaking. 'You know Gran's a witch?' I nodded before explaining to him how I'd cleverly picked up on it. He tried not to laugh, but at the time I didn't know why.

Our first few attempts for Neville's escape were dreadful failures, but we kept at it. Over the years, we lost sight of why we were doing it, and became more obsessed with the challenge of being able to. We never got very far, but we got closer each time. About a year before Neville was set to go to Hogwarts, his Gran started to catch on to what we were doing. She found it amusing in the beginning, but her patience wore away quickly. Every time we tried something it would be magically stopped. Neville didn't want to go away for school, and I didn't want to lose my best friend. This time, whatever we did was going to have to be serious.

Since all of our typical escape plans fell through, I had decided, just a week before school was to start, we'd need something serious. Fight magic with magic, I had said. Neville didn't seem very impressed by this idea, but with some convincing I managed to get him on my side. The idea was to steal his grandmother's wand so she couldn't use it against us. Not to mention how much I wanted to try to use it.

So one night, we stayed up extra late. We hid in the swamp until it was dark, and all the lights in the Longbottom house had gone out. When we were sure everyone had to be asleep, we snuck inside and into his Gran's room. Despite the dark, I was certain it was decorated just as eerily as the woman's wardrobe. Neville went to his room to get some of his things, while I tried to maneuver around the unfamiliar room. I was nearly at her night stand when there was a horrible sound. One of the frogs from the swamp had managed to get stuck in the hood of my sweater and gave a hideously ill-time croak.

The old woman sat bolt upright. Both she and I reached for the wand, but she got it first.

'Uh oh...' Was all I could manage to whisper before she said a bunch of gibberish. Slowly, the room appeared to grow. The ceiling got higher and the walls all farther away. Then I realized, with what could ironically only be called a sinking feeling, I was shrinking.

It was bad enough when I thought the old woman had made me miniature, when I finally tried to move it was difficult. I couldn't get my legs to work right. Had she frozen me as well? Made me into a lawn- gnome perhaps? I fought at it until finally something happened. I hopped. It was then I found out that, worse than being shrunk, or a gnome, she had turned me into a toad.

Actually, I'd thought I was a frog at the time, but close enough.

It was a long, hard night. I couldn't get out of the woman's room and she slept like a rock. A noisy rock. Neville peaked in to see where I was, but of course didn't notice me, a two inch high lump on the floor. I couldn't get comfy and couldn't sleep. Not to mention how worried I was. What would my parents do when they noticed I was gone? And Neville, stuck here. And what if I never got back?

When she finally awake at sunrise, the next morning, Mrs. Longbottom didn't seem to quite remember the events of the previous night. She opened her eyes, and stared at me, and thought, and stared some more but didn't have a clue. She knew there was some reason a toad was sitting on her bedroom floor, but it took a good two hours for her to realize it was me, the 'little, bothersome boy from the house behind' theirs. And even then, she didn't remember what spell she'd used to turn me into one, and couldn't turn me back. She'd even told me it was my fault I was a toad, that I shouldn't have been sneaking around all the time!

Neville, of course, was sad. He didn't know what happened, and just thought I'd left, or was ignoring him, like I didn't want to be his friend anymore because of something his Gran had done. He was partially right, but...

I'd been a toad for nearly a week when his grandmother decided, if anyone could turn me back, they'd be at Hogwarts. Of course, that made no sense to me at the time, but I'd find out soon enough.

She gave me to a man called -I kid you not- 'Algie', who pretended to have bought me as a gift. The next thing I knew, I was being given to my best friend as a pet to be taken away to boarding school lord-only-knows how far away. His Gran found it ironic that we always hung out in the swamp like toads, and now I was one. To add insult to transformation, Neville even named me, his new best friend, 'Trevor' after his old one.

His Gran told me, while I was at the school, I'd better look out for Neville. I'd have done it anyway, but I never suspected just how hard it would be. He had a lot of potential, but a lot of problems too. Staying with him I learned more than I'd ever imagined, let a lone thought possible.

So, from that day on, I was Neville's loyal and watchful pet; Trevor the Toad.

«.::.::.: Author's Notes .::.::.:»

I finally got around to writing a story about Neville, although it's not really what I originally had in mind. Still, both Neville and Trevor are largely over looked characters. Hopefully, I can still tie in a few ideas from the original. This may end up being a one-shot, just to explain the real Trevor, but I think I'd like to continue it. I mean, they aren't even at Hogwarts yet!

I'd like to apologize to anyone I confused in the first chapter by not clearly mentioning Trevor was a boy in the beginning. There are two very good reasons for it. The first being that Trevor is telling the story, and to him it makes perfect sense that he was a kid. The second is that I wanted it to be a surprise, for you not to expect the runaway-toad was more than he appeared. After all, you Neville know. (Bad pun, I'm sorry)

«.::.::.: Disclaimer .::.::.:»

Although I'm sure Ms Rowling hasn't given us any clear hints that Trevor is anything more than a toad, I still don't own any of this. However, if Trevor turns out to be a kid under a spell, or an animagus; I so called it!


	2. The Day That Went From Bad To Worse

«.::.::.: You Neville Know; As Told By Trevor :.::.::.:»

«Chapter Two - The Day That Went From Bad To Worse»

The next few days at the Longbottom household were quite unusual. As I'm sure I've mentioned to you now, I had figured out quite early on that Neville's dear Gran was a wicked old witch. I had not, however, figured out that the entirely family was. Everywhere I turned, someone was magically performing chores, or photos would speak to me, or I was under siege from bewitched furnishings. I would get lost in the maze of a house for hours on end, and be incredibly relieved when I finally ran into Neville, or his Gran, or even Algie or Enid (living in the house, he had met her, too). The whole experience was such an utter terror for me -to witness it all and have nothing explained- that I had considered living in the frog-pond more than once.

It had been a hard call which I hated more, being a toad or living with Neville's crazy old relatives. After my first few days of eating bugs and hopping slower than the passing dust-bunnies, I decided it was most definitely being a toad. Which should explain to you all my choice of going with Neville to this 'Hog-Wart' despite my fears. Besides, as his Gran had so unflatteringly pointed out, the kid would need all the help he could get. We were friends, but even I could see he was a prime target for bullies. My motives were partly selfish, though; even if I couldn't be fixed, at least at Hogwarts I would have him for company, and get away from his batty relatives.

The day of Neville's going away was a complete mess. One of his suitcases fell down the stairs. The lock was temperamental to start, and flew open as it crashed, scattering the contents throughout both floors. Then, the taxi that was to take us to the train station did not arrive. His family, somehow not familiar with the concept of cars, had to get a neighbour to drive us. The entire ride there was filled with awkward questions about where Neville would be attending, whatever he was doing with a book on herbology -which he happened to be reading on the ride over- and why he was bringing a toad of all creatures to school with him. The answers to any of which would have been interesting to me as well, but each was carefully avoided by old Mrs. Longbottom.

The woman was swift to usher her grandson and all his things out of the car when it finally stopped in King's Cross Station around 10:40 that day. I could tell from the car's radio clock, up until then I'd been clueless as to the date and time aside from night and day. In his Gran's rush, she managed to remember everything except for me. Hopping out of the car, I barely made it before the door shut. I chased them for a long while until, as with the stairway, the faulty lock let go and Neville's suitcase fell open. Most of it had been packed well enough it stayed inside as he hurried to shut it, but something small managed to slip out. A little thing, but as I'd learned over the past few days, immensely important for magic; a wand.

Mrs. Longbottom, now quite afraid of being found out, dragged Neville along at a pace I couldn't match with my newly acquired legs. They left. Forgetting the wand, and forgetting me. Well that wouldn't do. If he forgot either, he may as well miss the train. Quickly, I decided on the only logical course of action. I would retrieve the wand and find my own way to the train. Easier said than done.

As I no longer had working fingers, the wand was impossible to pick up with anything but my mouth. Holding it tightly and trying not to gag was a feat in itself, let alone carrying it down the stretch of platforms. As I remembered, it was quite far away, too. 9 and 3/4. I was too concerned in making the distance to even wonder how such a platform could be.

It took me five minutes to find Platform 1, and another ten from there to get to Platform 9. From there I could clearly see Platform 10. Neville and his Gran were nowhere in sight. Well, they had obviously found it, and that meant there had to be one. While I was looking around for it, I was suddenly lifted into the air.

A boy with dreadlocks, a few years older than me, had decided to scoop me up. He plucked the wand from my mouth and put it in his pocket. I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to break free, but the by held me tighter.

'You must be going to Hogwarts.' He said and I settled down. If he knew about the school, he must have known how to get there.

'I'll cooperate,' I told him, but of course he couldn't hear. 'For now.' I looked around expectantly for Platform 9 3/4, but Shifting me to one hand, he used the other to steer a cart with his school things. To steer it right at a brick divider!

Though I like to pretend I've always been a brave kid, and perhaps I was even taking this toad incident well all things considered, but you'd be a fool to think at this point panic hadn't set in. The boy was suicidal and was going to take me with him! I couldn't look. I shut my eyes, both sets of toad-lids as tight as I could and waited for the crash, but it didn't come.

Slowly, I opened my bulging eyes and saw we were on a Platform -9 3/4 according to a sign- and that neither me or the dreadlocked boy had been horribly disfigured from running into the wall, had it happened. I hardly had a chance to recover from this shock when I was met with another.

The boy had gone to the train, simple enough, and seemed to be unloading his luggage. This process caused Neville's wand to pock out of his pocket. When everything else was packed, he came to a box and stopped. Taking this box with him, he went to find some kids he knew, which didn't take long. A small crowd was growing, and over their voices I could hear Neville! Try as I might, he boy held me tightly with one hand. In my strain to follow his voice, I had rather unfortunately missed what the dreadlocked boy had said.

'Give us a look, Lee, go on.' Said one of the kids, and he did.

Using the hand I was in, he lifted the lid and something came out. A leg, long thin and hairy, and frighteningly close. I could feel the hair between my webbed toes, and that was the last straw.

With all my might, I leapt out of his hand and caught the end of Neville's wand on the way down. Knocking it out of his pocket, we landed with a small, unnoticed clatter on the ground. Incase the fascination with this boxed-beast wore off, I bit the wand and dragged it away and onto the train. Despite my serious second doubts, I had to at least make sure Neville found his wand.

The train was extremely long. It wasn't hard to get to the other side of my car, the last one aside from the caboose, but when I got to the door I realized my problem. There was no way I could open the door, let alone jump the gap between cars. I decided someone would find the wand and return it to him if I left it there, so I dropped it and tried to get off the train. A foot away from the door, it shut itself and the engine started up.

'No, no, no!' I shouted, but it probably came out as a meak croak. I was trapped, and going to Hogwarts whether I liked it or not.

«.::.::.: Disclaimer :.::.::.:»

If you are reading this, it means that Harry Potter is still not a publicly traded company, and I have no shares in it. As I'm not JK Rowling, and that's the only way I could possibly have any rights concerning the stories, it's safe to assume I don't -nor do I pretend to- own any of this.

«.::.::.: Author's Notes :.::.::.:»

I'm thrilled by all the positive reinforcement this fic has gotten. I thought maybe I'd get two reviews, one of which I'd have forced out of Awkward. So, thank you, all of you. Stroppy-Teenager and Bella Catherina, I continued, just like you wanted. Q (who wouldn't log-in) and Alien Outcast, I'm glad you enjoyed it. The Spatula Chick, I'm sorry I confused you, and have justified it in a note on Chapter One. And of course, Awkward, since I made you read it. It's because of all of you there's a chapter two.


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